NCAA may slow down college offenses

9:41 PM,
Feb. 15, 2014

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller prepares to throw a pass in the Orange Bowl. Clemson defeated the Buckeyes 40-35 in an offensive shootout, but the NCAA is pondering a rules change that would slow the pace of the game.

Written by

George Schroeder
USA Today

The NCAA football rules committee has proposed two fairly significant rules changes, one of which would flag teams with a delay of game penalty when they play too quickly.

One proposal, to mandate a 10-second window to allow defensive substitutions before offenses can snap the ball, likely is to be controversial and appeared to take several high-profile coaches by surprise. Offenses would not be able to snap the ball before the 40-second play clock hit 29 seconds.

Currently, defenses can only substitute when offenses do. The proposal would allow offenses to snap the ball within the first 10 ...